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Japanese Invasion of China
SourceA skirmish between Japan and Chinese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge, near Peking, makes way for a full scale invasion of China by Japan. -
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German Blitzkrieg
SourceGermany successfully used the Blitzkrieg tactic against Poland (attacked in September 1939), Denmark (April 1940), Norway (April 1940), Belgium (May 1940), the Netherlands (May 1940), Luxembourg (May 1940), France (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941), and Greece (April 1941). -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
SourceGermany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. Germany captured poland as a buffer zone between them and the Soviet Union. Germany used its Blitzkrieg tactic to easily take over Poland. By attacking Poland, Germany also brought France and Britain into the war. -
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Battle of Britain
SourceIn the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces fought in the skies at Britain. A significant turning point of World War II, the Battle of Britain ended when Germany failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain’s air bases, military posts, Germany failed, and Britain saved itself from invasion. -
Operation Barbarossa
SourceGermany launched an attack against the Soviet Union to take them over, their failure to claim victory was a turning point in the war. Germany now had to fight on two fronts. -
Pearl Harbor
SourceJapan launches a suprise attack on Pearl Harbor, this attack was only two hours long, but it was very devastating. Japanese attacked America to keep them from staying involved in Europe. The day after the attack, United States president Franklin D. Rosevelt declared war on Japan. -
Wannsee Conference
SourceThe Wansee Conference's main point was to find the "Final Solution" to the Jews. There were 15 members of the conference, all of which were high ranked German Officials, or high ranked Nazi Party Officials. -
Bataan Death March
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After the April 9, 1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an 65 mile march to prison camps. -
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Battle of Midway
SourceThe Battle of Midway was one of the most important battles of World War II. It was the turning point of the war in the Pacific between the United States and Japan. The battle took place over four days between June 4th and June 7th in 1942. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
SourceThe Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia, on the eastern boundary of Europe. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
SourceOn 19 April 1943, the Jews fought against the Nazis. They fought with limited resources for almost a month, before their resistance was finally ended and they were sent to concentration camps. -
Operation Gomorrah
SourceOperation Gomorrah was focused around the bombing of Hamburg, Germany. The British bombed it during the night in Operation Gomorrah and the Americans bombed it by day in their Blitz Week. They attacked Hamburg as a destuction bombing. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
SourceOn June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces of Britain, America, Canada, and France attacked German forces at Normandy, France. With a huge force of over 150,000 soldiers, the Allies attacked and gained a victory that became the turning point for World War II in Europe. This famous battle is sometimes called D-Day or the Invasion of Normandy. -
Battle of the Bulge
SourceThe Battle of the Bulge was a German offensive campaign launched through the region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. -
Operation Thunderclap
SourceOperation Thunderclap was the code for a cancelled operation. This operation was bellieved to have caused 200,000 casualties and 100,000 deaths if the operation would have happened. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Sourcehe Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle where the U.S. Marines landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. -
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Battle of Okinawa
SourceThe Battle of Okinawa was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa, and included the largest assault in the Pacific. -
VE Day
SourceGreat Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe. Cities in both nations, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
SourceOn August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT reduced four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki -
VJ Day
SourceOn August 15, 1945, news of the surrender was announced to the world. On September 2, 1945, a formal surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. At the time, President Truman declared September 2 to be VJ Day.
